Mowing device

Abstract

A mowing device comprises behind its cutting members a swath former, consisting of a worm rotor conveying the cut crop transversely to the travelling direction of the mowing device, in order to surely convey the cut crop irrespective whether the volume of the cut crop is small or great, the worm rotor rotates in such a sense that its front moves upwardly.

What we claim is: 
     
       1. A mowing device comprising a frame extending transversely of the direction of movement of the mowing device, cutting members supported by said frame and being rotatably mounted on said frame so as to rotate about substantially vertical shafts by means of a driving gear carried by said frame, said cutting members having knives rotating in a horizontal plane and at least one swath former comprising a worm rotor adapted to rotate about a horizontal axis transverse of the direction of movement and being journalled on the frame and conveying the crop laterally towards at least one delivery place and driving means for driving said worm rotor, characterized in that the substantially horizontal axis of the worm rotor is located behind the substantially vertical axes of the cutting members and in that the driving means drive the worm rotor in a sense such, that the worm rotor moves upwards at the front side. 
     
     
       2. A mowing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the side of the worm rotor facing the delivery place on the top side of the worm rotor converges with the direction of movement of the mowing device. 
     
     
       3. A mowing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cutting members mainly comprise each a knife carrier having at least one knife at the periphery and being disposed above a housing of the frame accommodating the driving gear. 
     
     
       4. A mowing device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the angle of convergence between the side of the worm rotor facing the delivery place and the direction of movement of the mower is small, preferably of the order of magnitude of 10°. 
     
     
       5. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the number of revolutions of the worm rotor is high, preferably of the order of magnitude of 1000 rev/min. 
     
     
       6. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the worm rotor comprises a cylinder and a helical strip of low height arranged on said cylinder. 
     
     
       7. A mowing device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the strip projects above the cylinder by less than 10 cm, preferably by 6 cm. 
     
     
       8. A mowing device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the cylinder has a diameter of more than 20 cm, preferably 26 cm. 
     
     
       9. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that a screen is arranged above the worm rotor. 
     
     
       10. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower side of the worm conveyor is located approximately at the level of the top sides of disc-shaped cutting members. 
     
     
       11. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower side of the worm conveyor is located approximately at the level of the substantially horizontal plane of the knives of the cutting members. 
     
     
       12. A mowing device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the lower side of the cylinder of the worm conveyor is located approximately in the substantially horizontal plane of movement of the knives of the cutting members. 
     
     
       13. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the front side of the worm rotor is located in the plane going through the standing axes of the cutting members or behind the same. 
     
     
       14. A mowing device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the front side of the cylinder of the worm rotor is located above the hindmost parts of the circular path of the knives. 
     
     
       15. A mowing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that at the delivery place a crop-treating tool, for example, a crop conditioner is arranged. 
     
     
       16. A mower/windrower comprising, in combination: a frame adapted to be traveled over a field;   a generally horizontal drum rotatably carried by said frame about a generally horizontal axis lying transversely to the direction of travel of said frame, and a series of rotary cutting devices disposed in leading relation to said drum, each cutting device being rotatable about an upstanding axis and including at least one cutting knife element terminating in predetermined radial spacing from such axis whereby each cutting device covers a swath having a width twice that of such radial spacing as the frame is traveled, and said axes being disposed in serially spaced relation with respect to the lengthwise extent of said drum and having said axes spaced with respect to each other such that adjacent swaths overlap so as to encompass a cumulative cutting swath whose width is generally the same as the length of the drum;   means for rotating said drum at high speed such that that portion of the drum nearest the cutting devices sweeps upwardly relative to the ground surface, and said drum having a shallow angle helix blade thereon terminating in an axially extending blade portion whereby cut crop may be transported axially by the drum, laterally with respect to the direction of travel, until it reaches the axially extending blade portion whereat such crop is flung rearwardly as a windrow; and   means for rotating said cutting devices at a high enough speed as to urge a stream of cut crop rearwardly against said drum with such pressure that the crop is sufficiently engaged for lateral displacement thereby.   
     
     
       17. The mower/windrower as defined in claim 16 wherein said drum is driven at a speed such that its peripheral velocity corresponds generally to that obtained by a drum diameter of 24 cm operating at a rotational speed of 1000 RPM, said cutting devices are driven at speeds of about 3000 RPM, and said shallow angle is in the order of 10°.